A burn in CD will not do anything for you that playing music wouldn't do. The system and cables would be subjected to "normal" duty and go about things normally. It is the higher voltage level that a "burner" produces that helps "cure" the cabling.
Wanna try something simple ? Rig up adapters to use interconnects for speaker cables. CRANK some tunes for a few days and listen to the difference when they go back into the system. While not as effective as a "good" burner, it will get you part of the way there.
If you have access to a SQUARE WAVE generator, connect your interconnects to it. Set the output frequency to 100 Hz and adjust the voltage level for as high as it will go. Terminate the far end of each interconnects with a 10,000 ohm resistor and you're done. Let it "cook" for as long as you can and then hook the cables back up to the system. If you must coil the cables to transport them, do it as loosely as possible. Use wide loops and try to flex the cables as little as possible.
Speaker cables can be done using your wall outlet and a high wattage bulb i.e. 150 - 250 watt flood lamp. This requires careful connections and some way to dissipate the heat from the lamp. The lamp can not be focused on anything that is flammable. The same goes for this in terms of "burn in time". The longer the better. If your cables have ANY type of knicks in the insulation or have EXTREMELY thin insulation between stranding, i would not do this. Obviously, air insulated bare wires would be a BIG no-no.
Here is the following disclaimer for anyone that would want to try the above. I don't recommend burning in anything that uses network boxes, impedance compensation, etc... Anything that you do is at your own risk. If you don't feel safe trying to make electrical connections, DON'T DO IT !!!! If you question the electrical integrity of your cabling, DON'T DO IT !!!! If you want to blame me for your mistakes, DON'T DO IT !!! I am not responsible for what you do. However, i will say that i would not post information that i myself would not or have not done. Take it from there.... Sean
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Well Sean, you offered to burn in some interconnects for me so I could find out the difference in sound...
I have plenty of free time these days.
I'd eventually want such a device so that I can burn in my tonearm wiring and anything else I decide to rig.
Thanks. |
Francisco just get the Mobie from Bes at Music Direct. I dropped Sean's name when I ordered mine & he gave me a decent discount - not that they're expensive anyway. 20 minutes to hear breakin changes on interconnects: a new world's record? I once had two ic pairs that took 30 days to stabilize (on a continuous music signal) but reportedly for best results you should Mobie for 30 days anyway.
Hey thanks for the KAB site referral: some nice stuff there. |
Hi,
I found the burn in devices better than burn in cd's! It made more of a difference! The Mobie is good and if you could get a used Duo-Tech cable enhancer ( which I use ), it would be a good value too cause it does speaker cables, too!
Rgds,
Ramesh |
Francisco, the offer still stands if you would like to send me your cables. I can throw them on the burner for as long as you would like. I've currently got about $10K in cables from various individuals burning right now.
As to KAB, i just bought some gear from Kevin ( the "K" in KAB ) last week. Besides having a very good conversation with him, he cut me a phenomenal deal. I was able to purchase a new cartridge and a replacement stylus with two day air shipping for about $10 less than what the cartridge lists for by itself. Can't beat that kind of a deal with a stick. Now THAT is the kind of place we need around Chicago, right Bob ??? Sean
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Kevin is SUPER cool! He's very knowledgeable of audio, a true music lover and a 1200 evangelist. I just ordered the tonearm fluid damper he designed for the 1200. When he said that to make any upgrade worthwhile from a modded 1200 one would have to jump to a VPI w/ flywheel I believe him. He's for the music 100%. Plus some people have let me know what the modded 1200 is capable of. I messed up one tonearm already trying to change the wires for Cardas Litz. A $100 learning experience...the Mobie would have been a better alternative.
Bob, you live in Chicago Metro, too?
OK Sean, let's see how we can get in touch. I would get the Mobie, I just want to try a couple of different cables to hear what it is capable of. Hey, I'm a pretty good cook and have walleye fillets in my freezer! It's not all audio, man...my 'amiga' loves my cooking! I've worked next to some really good chefs and learned quite a few tricks of the trade. |
Yeah Sean we could sure use a place the deals like that around here. On an unrelated note: I found out that Alberts' new place (Symphony Sound) is at 1525 East 55th St. #312 Chicago. Hyde Park is a decent area albeit the southern-orientation. The owner Evan left me with a good initial impression, so I figure I'll pay them a surprise visit eventually after they get the place going.
sorry this is so off topic but to ans. your question Francisco I was born in Oak Park & grew up in Riverside, but we moved 60 miles south to Kankakee river area long ago. My workplace (a satellite earth station) is about 4 miles from Seans' electronics shop; we're just a few miles south of Matteson here in the Monee area. This is that small-town place that Lyin' Ryan is trying to trash with his airport nightmare, but he will fail of course.
Anyway if you're located anywhere convenient then you could plan to drop off your cables at either of our business places & we'll fry 'em up for ya. |
Hey Bob, sure...I bought a box full of walleye fillets a while ago (they weren't cheap). It's my favorite North American freshwater fish. If you recall from other posts, I am a hydrologist (went to college in upstate NY) plus I served in the Coast Guard twice in the Great Lakes. I developed a culinary taste for the walleyes! I make my own seasoning and marinate them things in extra virgin olive oil for a day or so...Being originally from a coastal town in the Caribbean I learned many ways of cooking fish. I can bring some marinated fillets along with the cables if you guys are up to both types of cooking!
My first job here was with an aquatic weed management company, so I've been to Kankakee and all the way down to Watseka! |
Some good news and some bad news. Here's the bad news for Bob:
There IS an airport going up somewhere out here in the south burbs. I just had some drivers come through that told me their companies have gotten work contracts for the next TWELVE years to put it all together. Can't remember all the details, but it had something to do with being located near the new race course. Fron what i understand, it will be primarily used for air freight and cargo, but will accomodate BIG planes. UPS is trying to get something set up, as they want to build a terminal / routing hub close by. This could all be hear-say, but they were all quite confident that it was a "done deal". So much for "peace & quiet" in that area. Roaring races on weekends and planes 24 hours a day.
As to the good news for Francisco, drop me an email and we can work something out. I've still been having some problems with my puter and service provider, so if i don't get back to you ( or anybody else ) in a timely manner, re-send it to me again. I will be changing servers as soon as my contract with them runs out. To make it simple though, you can throw the cables in the mail, i can burn them and get them back to you either via the mail or at the next CAS meeting. Your choice, as i don't know how long you can spare them or want them to burn. Sean
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Man, the fish fillets will rot in the mail! |
Psychic I received your Saturday email & attempted to reply but it came back undeliverable. Good old AOL...
This is geting rather off topic, but to reply politely...
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Hi Francisco wow you really threw me with this email.
I got it at work when I arrived this afternoon & was thinking "huh?" he must have meant to send this one elsewhere? You see I intentionally only have web access from my workplace. Anyway I thought to peek back at the forums & now it all makes sense.
The fish offer is appreciated however I'm afraid you're probably located way northwest or some such?
But like Sean says we'll still Mobie those cables for you if you like, either one of us.
I don't know what interconnects you have there, but it's interesting to do this as a favor for others & then briefly get a chance to hear them in my own rig before returning back to their owner. Gives a chance to test out cables that I've never even considered - hey you never know… The drawback is that you're doing without for the 1 to 4 weeks duration, which may not be acceptable unless you have some spare extras around.
Sean we'll talk about that airport nuisance when I see you soon (to return your analog stuff). Sounds like the Joliet area? |
